News

The Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) hosted a regional Collegiate Discussion Meet at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul in October. The Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation sponsors a $200 scholarship for the winner and a $100 scholarship for the runner-up for each regional Collegiate Discussion Meet.

This year’s regional winner was Trent Dado from Amery, Wisconsin. He is a junior studying animal science. The runner-up of the regional contest was Daniel Hayes from Lafayette. He is a junior studying agricultural communications and marketing.

New research from the University of Minnesota, published in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” shows nitrous oxide emissions, a greenhouse gas, may get worse as the climate warms. While not as prevalent in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a nitrous oxide molecule is nearly 300 times more effective in terms of warming the planet.

The University of Minnesota Water Resources Center (WRC), a unit of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) and University of Minnesota Extension, has received a grant of $2.5 million from the Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) program. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the grant will fund research on innovations for sustainable food, energy, and water supplies in intensively cultivated regions.

Staff members of the Minnesota House and Senate visited to get a closer look at the work done on the St. Paul campus. Included in the visit were tours of and opportunities to visit with experts in the Bee Lab, Forever Green Initiative field plots, bio-safety lab, Food Science and Nutrition pilot lab, veterinary diagnostic laboratory, and the Raptor Center.

CFANS Department of Animal Science Assistant Professor Andres Gomez, will be a part of short documentary that airs on HBO Friday, October 6, 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. The VICE 82 documentary is the HBO segment that features Gomez’s work with microbiome research.

With the global population expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, the food, agricultural and natural resources community must empower youth and scientists to come together and strategize how to accomplish this feat. The Artemisia Leadership Initiative is designed to do just that.

Several events during Sept. 11-16, 2017, increased visibility and education about the importance of agriculture and food production in Minnesota. As an expansion on last year’s Ag and Food Day, CFANS highlighted the role we play through research, student education and outreach, and vital partnerships.

The Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology (FWCB) 2017 Kolshorn Lecture and Awards Ceremony, Sept. 18, honored John Magnuson, B.S. ‘56 and M.S. ‘58, with the Distinguished Alumni Award, several students, and featured Marie-Josee Fortin, Canada Research Chair in Spatial Ecology from the University of Toronto. Magnuson offered special thanks to the influence of mentor Lloyd Smith.